Plant Mage
by Avaunt
Summary: When Briar Moss, PlantMage undertakes a journey, he learns more then just his craft. During a violent kidnapping, Briar is forced to learn about,war, loss, and his own mortality. Only he can decided where his fate takes him. EmleanTortrall xover. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do notown any characters from Tamora Pierce's books. Only OC's

Plant Mage:

Summary: When Briar Moss, PlantMageundertakes a journey, he learns more then just his craft. During a violent kidnapping, Briar is forced to learn about,war, loss, and his own mortality. Only he can decided where hisfate takes him. Emlean/Tortrallxover. R&R!

_Somewhere in the Emerald Ocean:_

Briar Moss closed his eyes, and tried to sink deep into meditation. The rolling motion of the boat made his stomach twist and turn. It took all of Briar's self control not to cut the roots of meditation and run over to the rail to empty his mutinous stomach. It had been several months since Briar and his teacher Rosethorn stopped a scheming noble and picked up a street girl with stone magic. Soon after they left, Rosethorn received a message from Winding Circle, calling her home. Envy, his former student, decided to leave with her, in hopes of finding a stone mage. Now Briar found himself on his own and to his growing horror, on a boat, heading to the distant land of Tortrall.

The boat dipped far to the right and Briar knew that he had lost the battle with his rebelling stomach. Opening his eyes, Briar quickly got up and ran a foot through his protective circle, causing the silvery circle to collapse. Then, trying to retain some of his dignity, Briar walked over to the rail; where he promptly threw up. As soon as he was finished, Briar fumbled for his water skin and washed the taste out of his mouth. '_And I had thought there was nothing left in my stomach', _Briar shook his head ruefully and turned away from the rolling waves before he got sick again.

A deep throaty laugh made his look up to see Thor, a skilled sailor that Briar quickly befriended, shaking his blonde haired head, and smiling widely at him. Thor was a big man, with wide shoulders and blacksmith arms. The long years at sea had left him with no fat, only well toned muscle. He had a strong jaw and blue eyes that never seemed to lose their humorous sparkle.

Thor was the first crewmen to see past the awe and gossip that seemed to follow him everywhere. When Briar first came aboard the _Rikash, _He had been hounded with request for magical charms and solutions; as if magic solved everything. Thor quickly set his fellow crewmen straight and now most of them treated Briar as another passenger.

Briar glared at him.

"And here I thought there was nothing left in that little stomach of yours." Thor smiled, before popping a piece of cheese into his mouth. He was wise enough not to offer Briar any.

Briar couldn't help but grin, Thor's good mood was infectious. "Ya, I thought so too." Briar walked over to a barrel and jumped on it, for now his stomach seemed to have settled.

Thor followed the young mage, scratching his head. "You know, I don't get. You out of anyone should know that you can get a charmed bracelet to stop seasickness. Why don't you go get one, I'm sure that Kellen has some in stock." Kellen was the ship's healer.

Briar shook his head, "It would just be a waste, and anyways I'll be off this blasted ship in a few more days."

"I see it's true that men are as stubborn as they are proud." A feminine voice broke in.

Briar looked up to see Vera, the ships navigator, climbing down from the look out. Vera was the only female on board, the crew adopting her after her mother died when she was young. Her mother was a wave-speaker, and the gift was passed down to her. Vera was the crew's little sister and everyone was furiously protective of her. Briar was threatened more then once after he came aboard.

Briar shook his head, "I've told you already, it's a …"

"Waste of magic." All three chorused. Vera and Thor grinned at each other as Briar scowled.

"None of you respect me, none of you!" Briar threw his hands up in disgust.

"Well at least you got one thing right." Felix Becky commented snidely as the thin railed man walked past the trio carrying a case full of netting. Felix had a long pale face and a pointed nose rested in the middle; giving the impression of a peacock. From the moment Briar stepped aboard, the cabin boy disliked him greatly; claiming that all mages did nothing but take from hard working people and given nothing in return. From the start Briar had known that nothing was going to change this sour mans opinion; having seen many of the same reactions during his travels.

"Oh sod off Becky!" Thor leapt to defend Briar. "I don't remember asking for your opinion!"

Vera joined in, "Don't you have to swab the deck or something, _cabin boy_?" She asked, stressing the man's position. It was a well known fact Felix's position did not sit well with him.

The man gave them a dirty look before, he huffed and stalked off.

Briar shook his head. "That wasn't necessary." He said, though what he really wanted to do was teach the snobbish man a lesson, the street rat way.

"Don't worry about it kid," Thor advised. "No one likes him anyways. It was the Cap'n's only mistake; hiring that slimy eel."

Vera laughed and threw an arm over Briar's shoulder, "And don't listen to him! Of course we respect you, Oh great master of plants, but once we see you leaning over the rail like a bulimic fish…"

"…The awe kind of dies down." Thor finished, as he popped the last bit of cheese into his mouth. He stood up and dusted off his hands. "Well I better get back to work; don't want the Cap'n to start breathing done my neck." He lumbered off.

Briar and Vera watched the bear like man walk off in a comfortable silence. Briar and Vera had become friends almost as quickly as Thor and him. The exotic black haired navigator had a tongue sharper then any blade, reminding him of Tris, minus the lightning throwing, rain controlling aspect of course.

"I don't suppose you'd want to stick around longer?"Vera asked her voice quiet.

Briar shook his head. He needed to get off this boat and onto dry ground. He missed the feeling of the ground underneath him and the song of the plants in his head. He felt like a tree with out any roots to ground and nourish him. As much as he liked the crew of _Rikash_, being unable to lay down his roots of his own was killing him.

Vera nodded sadly, "I thought as much, anyone with two eyes on their face can see that you belong on solid ground." She stopped and suddenly leaned forwarded and kissed Briar lightly on the lips. "But that doesn't mean you can forget me." She whispered her face red with embarrassment. But Before Briar could say anything, Vera ran off nimbly to work.

The next couple days went by uneventfully. Briar didn't think it was possible to avoid someone on a ship, but Vera had somehow managed to accomplish it. It seemed that whenever he walked into a room, she was walking out. Even during supper, Vera was nowhere to be seen in the mess hall. Briar didn't know if this was a good thing or not. He still didn't know what to do about, what he like to think of it as, The Kiss. He knew that it would be wrong to start anything with the navigator; after all, he would be off the ship in a few more days. But he didn't want the pretty black haired girl to think that the feelings were only one-sided. Briar was pretty sure they weren't.

Briar sighed, even after living with girls for years they still were so complicated. He went back to trimming his loyal _Shakkan _tree. _No _he scowled as it pleaded to keep one new growth, _I'm not going to let you keep that twig, you should know by now that it's just weakening you. _Inwardly Briar could feel it sigh in defeat. With no more complaints, Briar finished trimming the century old tree in peace. This process always reminded him of mediation, the feeling of being everywhere but nowhere.

Suddenly his peace was shattered as Vera came running into his room. Her brown eyes were wide and she was breathing heavily. "We're – under – attack."

Briar dropped his shears and with out a word headed over to his mage kit. Quickly he opened it, and grabbed a handful of brown cloth balls. Closing his eyes, he loosened the hemp that ties two knives, a gift from Daja, onto his forearm. Vera's eyes widened when she saw the two beautiful knives, and despite the circumstances she grinned.

"Someone has been keeping something from me."

Briar smiled crookedly, "Wait until you see these," he held up one of the cloth balls, "in action."

The two raced up the stairs and up to the surface. The deck, normally bustling with activity, was ten times more active as the crew raced to get ready for the battle ahead. The Captain was a surprisingly thin, small man. He shouted out orders to his crew, his presences and energy making up for his small stature. Men rolled cannons into position, as other's saw to it that everyone was armed and ready.

Briar scanned the crew, trying to locate Thor. Finding him on the east side, Briar raced over to him, nimbly moving through the crowd, calling his name.

Thor turned around, and smiled, though it was more tense and grim then ever. "Bout time you got here, I thought for a moment you were going to miss all of the fun." His normally sparkling blue eyes were hard as stones as he turned to look out at sea. Briar followed his gaze, and swallowed, as he saw two Scanran ships headed towards them.

He would give anything to have Tris here.

Thor patted Briar on the shoulder, "Don't you worry bout nothing kid, and we'll get out of this one."

The whole boat seemed to watch in silence as the Scanran boats came closer. Then time seemed to speed up again and the Scanran attacked. The canon fire filled the air, and the sound of canons screamed through the air. Through it all, the Captain was yelling orders; his deep throaty voice was clear over the yells of the crew.

"INCOMING!"

Briar felt himself pushed down onto the deck, Thor's heavily body on top of him. Seconds later an explosion went off, and wood splinters rained down onto his face. His ears were ringing and he could barely catch his breath. Finally, as if Thor had been lying on him forever, the heavily weight on his chest decreased and he was pulled to his feet.

"Are you alright there kid?" Thor's face, acquiring a new scratch, came into view; the blue eyes shone with concern.

Briar nodded, "Ya, – I just – got to – catch – my – breathe."

"Well you better hurry, we're about to be boarded." Thor's voice was as hard as steal.

Briar nodded and quickly searched for his green vein of magic. Finding it, he grasped it tightly, and with the delicate skill of a surgeon, he gentle allowed the green fire to seep into the cloth balls. As soon as he gave the word, the packages of seedlings inside will burst into frantic growth.

With that done and out of the way, Briar gripped his knifes grimly and stood ready to face thefirst onslaught. His seasickness was forgotten.

The first wave of Scanran soldier's came quickly, whirling their gleaming swords as they tried to swing onto the deck of the _Rikash. _They never made it, _Rikash's_ archers quickly and efficiently picking them off before their feet even touched the deck. But the archer's couldn't stop all of them, and before Briar knew was happening, the second wave of soldiers came aboard, and then the real fighting began.

Briar looked up to see a blond haired solider running to engage him. The soldier grinned ruthlessly at the Briar, thinking the sixteen year old to be an easy kill. Briar's grey-green eyes narrowed, and he smirked. _We'll see how easy I am! _

Bending down, Briar shifted his weight the balls of his feet. Waiting patiently, he watched as the Scanran swiped at him with the sword. At the last second he stepped to the side and brought his knife down onto the man's wrist, causing the solider to cry out in pain and drop his sword. With out wasting a beat, he grabbed the man's wrist, shifted his weight and twisted him over his shoulder, using the man's momentum as leverage. Letting go, the man went flying. Briar loosened the hemp ties and a knife slide down into his grip. As soon as he felt the familiar weight land in his palms, Briar flicked his wrist and embedded the knife in the Scanran's gut.

The whole fight took only seconds.

Briar did not stop to contemplate the man's fate. Instead he moved on to the next, keeping an eye out for Vera and Thor. Twice he saved Vera from a man coming up from behind with the flick of his wrist; once by hitting a man in the eye, and once by hitting a solider directly in the throat.

Briar threw his cloth balls into the fray, giving them careful instructions not to trap the _Rikash _crew. Then he poured green fire into the packages, causing the seeds to burst with sudden growth. He created images of the bodies of the _Rikash_ crew, of Scanran laughing as they burned the ship and fed them to the plants, fueling the rage and desire to fight. They sprung up from the deck, green tentacles grabbing ankles and forearms with an iron grip. The plants cried out in battle glee, begging Briar to give them more power to punish those that dare attack the plant mage.

The Scanran's cried out in surprise and fear as the plants continued to attack and trap them. Soon many Scanran's hacked at the plants, using their swords like machetes.

The crew of _Rikash _fought long and hard, almost with wild desperateness, but against two full Scanran war cruisers, they were soon overwhelmed by shear numbers. Briar felt like days had past and fighting all blurred into one, when finally the Captain gave the order to surrender, hoping to save at least some of his crew.

The surviving members of the crew were tied up, Briar heart warmed to see that Thor and Vera were still among the living. Both looked worse for wear, and Briar suspected that he did not look much better, if not worse. He growled as the Scanran tying his hands, pulled extra tight. They did not know who they were messing with.

Soon the entire crew was tied and waiting to see what fate had in store with them.

A big man, inches taller then Thor, and just as wide walked in front of the crew. His nose was crooked after being broken so many times and a long white scar decorated his face from his temple to his chin. The man was blessed with a strong jaw, and if it was not for many worn down scars that covered his face, he could have been handsome. As it was, the man looked upon the defeated crew, his mouth twisted into a cruel and unwelcoming smile.

"Well, well, what should we do with you?" He asked rhetorically, his voice deep and grating. He walked up to Vera and traced one large chubby finger along her cheek. "I see that not everyone has been worn down by the sea air." He leered, his ice cold blue eyes taking her in hungrily.

The crew instantly roared, tugging at their binds. The man just turned to them and laughed the sound harsh. He stopped when he met Briar's hard gray-green eyes. Fury burned deep inside Briar as he looked upon the Scanran. His face curved into an unwilling smirk, knowing his cool and unperturbed attitude was sure to annoy the man.

The Scanran walked straight up to the boy, and bent down, his face mere inches away from Briar's. "Pray tell what you find so amusing."

Briar wrinkled his face, "Well your breath for one thing. You know they have charms to ward of bad breath?"

The silence was deafening as the tension raised ten folds. Thor was helpless as he watched his young friend, praying that the young mage did not get himself killed. Vera's eyes widened with fright and disbelief.

Finally the Scanran laughed.

"So you must be Briar Moss, the boy who can control nature itself."

Briar blinked, surprised that the Scanran knew who he was.

"Don't look so surprised Master Moss, after all you are well known for you skill and rebellious attitude. But I'm sure I can change that." He stood up, and turned to address his own crew. "Time to pack up," he gave Briar a smirk. "We got what we came for." With a shake of his head, he motioned two soldiers to untie Briar.

That was the break Briar had been waiting for.

With a flash, he struck out, hitting the soldier on the right with the heel of his hand; breaking his nose. At the same time he dropped to the ground swinging his leg, taking the soldier on the left legs from beneath him. With out stopping he hit the man in the temple, knocking him out.

As fast as Briar was, he wasn't fast enough to duck the first that was aimed at his head. Pain erupted within his eyes, and darkness quickly came up to swallow him. The Scanran leader shook his head and swung Briar limp body onto his shoulders like a bag of potato.

"Um sir, what should we do about the rest of the crew?" A nearby soldier sputtered nervously.

The Scanran leader turned back to look at the silent, defeated crew. "Toss their food and water over board, and then leave them." He smiled cruelly. "Let them starve to death." With a mock a salute he tuned and walked back to his own ship, Briar in tow.

Well thats the first chapter. What do you think? I was wondering if the charactering for Briar is off or anything? Please any feed back would help alot! And don't worry you'll see more Tortall characters soon enough. I didn't make Briar seem way to powerful or anything did I? Because after all, hes only sixteen, he has to have some room to grow right?

Sry, I was blabbering.

Hope you like it, and any feed back, good or bad is welcome. I need all the help i can get!

Mercedes Sandhya


	2. Chapter Two

Avaunt

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

CHAPTER TWO

The door slammed open with a bang, and a Page messenger ran in, breathing heavily from the long run. In the boy's right hand he clutched a scroll, with the spymasters seal embedded onto the front. Seated at a desk was a bearded man, looking over some documents. Women all over the country swooned at the sight of him. His close cropped hair and beard were blue-black, and his sapphire blue eyes sparkled. He was a sight to wring any girl's hearts and occupied a many minds fantasies. King Jonathan the III looked up from his papers, startled and secretly pleased for the distraction. Unknown too many, the job of ruling a country could be very boring!

The page instantly blushed as soon as he realized how he had entered the royal office. Sputtering an instant apology, the red faced boy stood at the door way; suddenly frozen stiff at the sight of the King. Hiding a grin, the King waved off the apology and gestured for the knight-in-training to come in.

"You have a message for me Lad?"

The boy, broken out of his stupor, nodded and jerkily walked over with the message.

The King grabbed the message and with a murmur, and a flash of blue fire, the charmed seal cracked. Jon carefully opened the scroll, reading quickly. His forehead creased and his frown deepened as he continued to read the message from the border. Opening his desk, Jon grabbed two pieces of parchment and quickly scribbled down a message. Sealing them with the royal insignia, he motioned for the nervous page to come closer.

"I need you to deliver two messages for me; they are the up most importance. Take one to Duke Garth and another to Lord Provost." Jon voice was stern but kind. "Can you do that for me young sir?"

The page gulped and nodded feverishly. Jon reached into his side purse and produced a silver coin. Putting the coin into the page's hand, the King patted the boy on the shoulder and nodded. Knowing a dismissal when he saw one, the page walked as quickly as he could towards the doors. As soon the page closed the doors behind him, he took off, only too pleased to put distance between him and the King. His nerves were shot to hell!

Back inside the royal office, Jon's shoulders sagged as he rubbed his temples. He could feel the onslaught of a headache come on as his stress level rose. The news had not been good; it seemed that Maggur had more tricks up his sleeve. With the destruction of the killing machines and death of Blayce, many assumed that the war with Scanran was going to come to a quick and easy close. However the fighting still continued. Maggur's army was relatively new, but they were learning and the war was at a standstill; with neither side giving an inch. The news that Maggur might have something to break the standstill in his favor was down right worrisome.

Walking back to the desk, Jon gathered the documents he had been reading only moments before and put them into a relatively neat pile. He hoped that the new clerk would be able to read his chicken scratch this time. With a tired sigh, he dropped back into his chair and swung his feet upon the desk in a very unkingly matter. _Gary should be stomping through any minute now…_

As Jon predicted, seconds later Duke Garth the Younger stormed through the door without bothering to knock, a thunderous expression on his face. Jon grinned.

"What do you think your doing?" Gary cried out, waving the message over his head as if it would make the offending document disappear. "Going to the border? Are you out of your mind!?"

Sapphire blue eyes watched patiently as his friend and closest advisor pace back and forth in a circle. Gary was making wild motions with hands as he mumbled about stubborn, no-good, idiotic kings. Finally Jon swung his legs of the desk and leaned forward.

"Are you done yet?"

Gary stopped mid rant and sighed. He slumped down into one of the chairs in front of the King's desk and frowned. Jon hid the full blown smile that threatened to break free as he watched his cousin pout like a ten year old.

"Yes, I suppose I am." Gary mumbled though his expression was still thunderous. Without saying a word Jon handed him the message from the border. Silently Gray read the message, his forehead creasing too with worry. Finally Gray looked up and sighed, defeated.

"Well, what time do you want to leave?"

"I want to be gone by tomorrow morning."

Gray stood up. "Well that doesn't give me much time to prepare. I suppose you'll contact Alanna and Raoul and tell them your coming?"

Jon nodded.

"Well then I'd best be off" Gary's mind was already making a list of what needed to be done, and who to contact. Opening the door, Gary looked back at his cousin. "Jon? Don't get yourself killed, Thayet would have my head." The tone was light and humorous but the message was clear.

Serious sapphire blue eyes met hazel eyes filled with worry; guilt and envy.

"I'll be fine, I promise."

Gary nodded, and after a brief moment of hesitation, bowed deeply to the King of Tortall.

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Briar examined every inch of his cell, not willing to give up on the search for freedom. He had no idea long he had been locked up in the windowless dirt room; all he knew is that it was too long. Maggur, the Scanran king, had done his homework before capturing the plant mage. There was no plant life within 500 feet in either direction, and while Briar magical reach was much longer then that, Maggur had enclosed his prison with strong magical barriers; strong enough to stop even Briar from reaching any plant life. Briar smirked to himself, at least for now.

Suddenly with a loud bang the pure steel door opened. Hissing in pain, Briar quickly covered his eyes from the bright light. In stepped a blurred figure. Briar blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears from his sore, red eyes. Finally, the figure began to focus, and Briar found himself staring at a large bear like man with broad strong shoulders. He dressed in the finest royal red silk that money could by, trimmed by golden thread. Sparkling sapphires embellished a simple leather belt and upon his belt hung a gleaming sword. Resting on a bed of course blond hair laid a simple gold crown.

King Maggur looked down at Briar, his deep green eyes calculating. Then he raised his hand and snapped. Quickly a henchman rushed into the small cell and unlocked the chains that wrapped around Briar's ankle. Briar rubbed his chafe ankle, but did not let the feeling of relief show on his scowling face. Instead he conjured up as much saliva as he could and spit spitefully at the King's feet.

Take that you over dressed, smug Bag! Briar thought with a small amount of satisfaction.

Briar was quickly rewarded with a back hand to the head, hard enough that for a moment the world spun. Gingerly he wiped off the blood from his now busted lip.

"Please Master Briar." King Maggur spoke, his voice smooth. "No need for unpleasentaries, after all you are a guest in my household."

You could catch bees with that voice. Briar raised one delicate eyebrow (a trick he learned from Tris) and commented dryly. "Oh so this is how you always treat your guests? I've got a few suggestions for your guest room then."

Maggur laughed his voice deep and thundering. "Such spirit! I believe that you and I are going to get along quite well Briar Moss."

Briar shook his head. "That's strange; usually I don't get along with filthy murderers."

Maggur just smiled. "It's funny is it not? That while some curse my name, others proclaim me a visionary, a man with the strength to change the world."

Briar mouth hardened and he said nothing back to the self proclaimed visionary. It was quite obvious to him that King Maggur was off his rocker. And one thing Briar was certain of; he wanted nothing to do with him. After all, nothing was more dangerous then a fanatical man who believed his own lies.

"You see my young friend; you now have a greater destiny to play. With you, I will now be able to spread my message, and punish those unworthy of my rule. Together we will be able to build a greater empire, one unspoiled by those that hurt society as a whole."

Briar could not help it; he laughed. However there was no amusement in his voice. "You actually believe all that crap? You're nothing but a crazy sick man who should be locked up. Can't you see that you're the one hurting society, that you're the one unworthy?" A condescending edge colored his voice.

Maggur frowned, and for the first time, a spark of anger warmed his cold green eyes. With a nod towards Briar, the King swiftly turned on his heels and stalked out. For a moment Briar thought that this 'meeting' was simple over. That thought of hope quickly dissolved when the beefy henchman walked towards him, a deadly cruel gleam in his eye, and a sadistic grin of his lips.

Briar crouched down into a ready position. After all, Briar was never one to take a beating lying down.

Hours later, Briar slumped against the cold stone cell wall, his head throbbing. But despite the fact that he was now covered in multiple bruises and cuts, he couldn't keep a satisfied grin off his bloody face. He had indeed fought back and when the guard had left there was a definite painful limp to his step. However as good as that made him feel, it was not the reason for Briar current good mood.

With a sly grin, he pulled out the key to his freedom, a thin knife of good quality that Briar had kindly lifted from his guard during the scuffle. He almost felt sorry for the guard; for once Briar escaped, he was sure the guard would be severely punished. He had looked over the lock on the door before and not only would it be easily to unlock, it also had no magical protection what so ever. It was obvious that King Maggur was not only crazy, but over confident as well.

Oh well, Briar was sure the fanatical tyrant would learn his lesson soon enough.

He pushed himself off the floor, biting back a groan as his sore muscles protested the sudden movement. He was going to have a nice long soak in his bruise balm when this was all over. Briar forced himself to stretch for a couple minutes before walking over to the door the separated him from his freedom.

After studying the lock for a moment, Briar quickly got to work. At the same time Briar planned out how to take care of the guards that stood on the other side. He needed to dispose of them quickly and quietly before they had a chance to alert the others. He wasn't to keen on staying here much longer, and plus, Briar was sure the he and King Maggur wouldn't get along to well. Briar always had a problem with authority.

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I finally got the second chapter up. Sorry about the super long wait!

Remember keep Reviewing, and any feed back is welcome!

Avaunt


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